Sinn Féin - On Your Side

Sinn Féin demand decision on future Derry City airport

Foyle Sinn Féin MLA, Mitchel McLaughlin has called on British Secretary of
State, Paul Murphy to close his deliberations on City of Derry Airport and
release the funding urgently required for safety improvements and
development.

The Foyle MLA said:

"Despite the pressing need of improvements and development of City of Derry
Airport it has succeeded in increasing its throughput by more than 10% during
the past year with more than a quarter of a million passengers now using the
airport annually.

"This is a gauge of how important the facility is to Derry and the North
West Region and it flags up the damage that will be done not just to the
future of the Airport but to the potential regeneration of the NorthWest if
the planned developments do not take place without further delay.

"There is growing evidence that officials in the DRD are briefing against
investment in the NorthWest in general and Derry Airport in particular. It is
totally unacceptable that these officials are permitted to engage in this
activity unchallenged. Mr Murphy established a joint working group to
prepare the case for the development of City of Derry Airport. That body has
now reported and Mr Murphy needs to respond to its recommendations
immediately.

"I am concerned that those in positions of influence and who are charged
with development of this area, actually seem to be undermining the development
of the NorthWest Region by grossly understating its requirements for growth
in order to justify their own policy of neglect and east of the Bann bias.

"The infrastructure of this city has been neglected for decades and we have
consistently been told that there is insufficient demand to justify such
infrastructural investment in our roads, railway or airport. This never was
justifiable, is not acceptable and the fact that the NorthWest is the
fastest growing region in the 6 Counties exposes this reasoning as
demonstrably false.

" I have written to Mr Murphy today to call for an urgent decision on the
release of the necessary funds to allow the development work at City Of Derry
Airport to proceed. I have also requested of the Mayor of Derry, Gerry Ó
hÉara that he convenes the City's Civic Regeneration Forum to develop a
cross-party and civic intervention." ENDS